Archives

Meta

Tag: Friends

First, from Romania: savor a perfect experience. if it’s truly perfect, like my first trip to the “Bla” (Swedish for blue) Lounge in the Bucharest Radisson, there’s no way the second trip can meet the same standard. It may be good, even really good, but probably not perfect. You may encounter a particularly young waiter who doesn’t understand that it’s bad form to deliver the bill before the food and drink have been presented.

Second, also from Romania but more from Mongolia: a city is far more welcoming once you walk the streets and find a cafe where you manage, despite having no local language skills, to order a soul-refreshing bowl of soup. (Ok, I had to confess to Oana, so the cafe turned out in this case to be the bistro at the Hilton. I didn’t know that when I went in!)

Third, from Vienna: a city where you know virtually no one may seem foreign and somewhat unwelcoming before you get a chance to walk the streets. But there is nothing more lonely than knowing that somewhere, within a few foreign blocks, your friends and colleagues are enjoying a lovely meal – waiting for you – and you are unable to find them, call them, or walk another step.

Here are our wonderful interpreters – Tseegil and Mogy – on this “All Girl” Training Team. And below are two Mongolian friends who came to Washington for training, Ariumbolor and Ulzi (the Wonder Woman of Mongolia!) with the other trainers, Melody and Theresa at our celebratory trip to the Grand Khaan Irish Pub!

I had forgotten that the circle of Obama supporters in the Tri-Cities had more than one Obama baby! Here is Delila in her Obama onesie. It’s clear from the picture, not only is she adorable, she’s brilliant, poltically savvy – and she has great fashion sense, and a DRY sense of humor! Sorry – a little diaper humor there…

Here are two pix from the local election watch party of some of the fine folks who have volunteered and done so much in support of Obama. On the left are Chuck, Sharon, Ann and Gail. On the right is Gail with two of her favorite men, her husband, Ed, and The President Elect!!!

My daughter Phoebe was somewhere in the crowd, I’m glad to know the family was represented at the festivities! I would have loved to have been there partying with the rest of them, but alas! am stuck in Vienna!

These people sponsored movie nights (Iron Jawed Angels), a food drive for Obama (“Yes We Can!” Canned Food Drive), made thousands of buttons (Thanks Gail!), sold shirts and lawn signs, wrote post cards to encourage people in battleground states, and of course, helped with voter registration, neighborhood canvassing, and get out the vote.

It has been a great experience – not only did we see the election of the candidate we support, we all have friends we wouldn’t have known otherwise. Our new friends include Elbert an 80-something black man who has seen so much in his life and has now seen the election of a black man for President. And Arturo, who helped Gail make buttons and turned in a remarkable number of voter registration forms. Arturo introduced us to his children whom he brought to Obama campaign meetings – and some of us are looking forward to meeting the newest baby that was born just a few days before the election. We have it on good authority that the newest little girl is an Obama fan – it says so one her onesie!